KUALA LUMPUR: To mark World Refugee Day, The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) organised a two-day programme over the weekend at the Kuala Lumpur sentral station that had cultural performances, food and crafts made by refugees themselves.
The programme is not just to raise donation and awareness towards the plight of the refugees in Malaysia but also to sign up volunteers to assist refugees in teaching and skills building.
There are 94,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.
An estimated 10,000 others are unregistered.
92 per cent are from Myanmar, the rest are Sri Lankans, Somalis, Iraqis and Afghans.
Almost 19,000 are children below the age of 18.
"Refugees in Malaysia are almost invisible because they live in cities, they live in (an) urban setting where they blend in very quietly side by side Malaysians and they are not noticed. The result is that Malaysians don't know about them. This event is to be that trigger, (to) let malaysians understand, (and) after that hopefully the compassion will come," said Ms Yanti Ismail, spokesperson for UNHCR, Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN convention on treatment of refugees.
Thus, there's no proper legal framework governing their rights.
Refugees are unable to work legally in Malaysia and their children have no access to public healthcare and education.
"Although there is some tolerance by authorities for them to work in (the) private sector, still this creates unpredictability because they can only access odd jobs," said Ms Yanti.
Some refugees also complain of being discriminated against by the local community.
"They look down on us...they don't see us as human beings, they see refugees as criminals,'' said Ns Tanda Htun, founder of Mon Women Refugee Malaysia.
With all these concerns plaguing the refugee communities, it's no surprise that many rights groups have raised objections over the proposed refugee swap deal between Malaysia and Australia that now hangs in the balance.
The programme is not just to raise donation and awareness towards the plight of the refugees in Malaysia but also to sign up volunteers to assist refugees in teaching and skills building.
There are 94,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.
An estimated 10,000 others are unregistered.
92 per cent are from Myanmar, the rest are Sri Lankans, Somalis, Iraqis and Afghans.
Almost 19,000 are children below the age of 18.
"Refugees in Malaysia are almost invisible because they live in cities, they live in (an) urban setting where they blend in very quietly side by side Malaysians and they are not noticed. The result is that Malaysians don't know about them. This event is to be that trigger, (to) let malaysians understand, (and) after that hopefully the compassion will come," said Ms Yanti Ismail, spokesperson for UNHCR, Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN convention on treatment of refugees.
Thus, there's no proper legal framework governing their rights.
Refugees are unable to work legally in Malaysia and their children have no access to public healthcare and education.
"Although there is some tolerance by authorities for them to work in (the) private sector, still this creates unpredictability because they can only access odd jobs," said Ms Yanti.
Some refugees also complain of being discriminated against by the local community.
"They look down on us...they don't see us as human beings, they see refugees as criminals,'' said Ns Tanda Htun, founder of Mon Women Refugee Malaysia.
With all these concerns plaguing the refugee communities, it's no surprise that many rights groups have raised objections over the proposed refugee swap deal between Malaysia and Australia that now hangs in the balance.
There is a video released for World Refugee Week called "High Hopes, Open Minds" that was released by the Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs in the Iowa Department of Human Rights. It's about refugee youth in Iowa. You might want to check it out. It's at www.youtube.com/iahumanrights
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